THE SERIES
• Wisconsin leads the all-time series against Oregon, 3-1, but the Ducks won the most recent meeting, 31-28, in 2001.

QUICK HITS
• In winning the inaugural Pac-12 Championship, Oregon became only the second team in conference history to win three consecutive outright titles (USC 2003-05, last two since vacated) since the league expanded to ten teams in 1978.
• The Ducks are the only team in the country playing in a third straight BCS bowl game.
• Oregon is 1-4 all-time in the Rose Bowl Game, having dropped its last four appearances - most recently in 2010 vs. Ohio State, 26-17. The Ducks lone postseason win in Pasadena was a 14-0 shutout of Pennsylvania in 1917.
• UO is 0-3 in the Rose Bowl Game against current Big Ten teams: 0-1 vs. Penn State; 0-2 vs. Ohio State.
• Only once before have consecutive losers of the Rose Bowl met up in the third year, when Michigan (loser in 1987) defeated USC (‘88) in ‘89.
• JR RB LaMichael James placed tenth in the 2011 Heisman Trophy race, becoming the first Oregon player with two top 10 finishes in a career (3rd in ‘10).
• James (52 TDs) trails Wisconsin JR RB Montee Ball (53) by one score for 15th place on the NCAA all-time rushing touchdown list.
• Badgers SR QB Russell Wilson (37) and Oregon JR QB Darron Thomas (25) rank 1-2 in the FBS in consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass.
• FR RB/WR De'Anthony Thomas is the only player in the country with 400 or more yards rushing, receiving and kick returning.

HEAD COACH CHIP KELLY
Oregon’s 30th head coach, who in 2009 became the first in Pac-10 history to win an outright conference title in his first season at the helm, followed that feat with a second conference crown while securing the program’s first trip to the BCS Championship Game following the 2010 season. The Manchester, N.H., native guided his team to more wins (22) in his first two years in the Pac-8/10/12 than any coach in conference history. Recognized as Pac-10 coach of the year for the second time in as many seasons, Kelly was named the recipient of five national coach of the year awards in 2010: AFCA, AP, Eddie Robinson, Sporting News and Walter Camp. He’s overseen the team’s first 12-win season and led the Ducks to a school-record 12-game winning streak. With the inaugural Pac-12 crown now secure, Kelly is a perfect 3 for 3 in conference championships. In his first head coaching job at any level, Kelly has a mark of 33-6, 25-2 in Pac-12 play. His .846 overall winning percentage is the highest in school history and his .926 percentage in conference play is the best in Pac-12 history.

RETURN MEN
The 2011 Oregon Ducks returned 39 letterwinners, including 13 starters - seven on offense and six on defense. UO also welcomes back every specialist with the exception of holder Nate Costa.

DOUBLE-DIGIT VICTORIES
Oregon has recorded its fourth straight season (seventh overall) of double-digit victories. The Ducks have 42 wins since the start of 2008, which is the most in a four-year period in school history. Last year, UO set a school record for wins at 12.

BACK TO BACK TO BACK CHAMPS
With consecutive conference crowns the last three seasons, Oregon became the second team to win three straight outright Pac-12 championships since the conference expanded to ten teams in 1978, joining USC from 2003-05 (‘04 and ‘05 titles since vacated). Last year, the Ducks became the first Pac-12 squad to win nine league games.

LIGHTNING STRIKES
Of Oregon’s 75 offensive drives resulting in touchdowns, 41 have taken two minutes or less and 13 have lasted 60 seconds or less. UO’s longest drive of the season, in terms of yards, lasted 37 seconds as the Ducks drove 93 yards in three plays on consecutive pass completions of 46, 40 and 7 yards against Missouri State.

VS. THE TOP 10
Oregon is 4-3 against the top 10 under Chip Kelly, with two defeats coming in BCS bowl games - vs. No. 8 Ohio State in the 2010 Rose Bowl and No. 1 Auburn in the 2011 BCS Championship - and the other vs. No. 4 LSU in the 2011 Cowboys Classic in Arlington, Texas. UO’s 53-30 win Nov. 12 at No. 3 Stanford was its first against a top 5 team in a regular season road game.

VS. THE TOP 25
The Ducks are 2-2 against top 25 teams this season and 9-5 against ranked opposition in the Chip Kelly era. At home, Kelly’s troops are 7-1 vs. the top 25. Oregon is 2-1 in non-neutral site road games against ranked foes under Kelly. UO’s only loss to a non-ranked team during Kelly’s tenure came at Stanford on Nov. 7, 2009. The Cardinal became ranked the following week as a result.

ALL-PAC 12 DUCKSFR RB De'Anthony Thomas was named Pac-12 co-offensive freshman of the year and was one of five Ducks to make the all-Pac-12 first team, following the end of the regular season. Thomas, who leads all freshmen in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) with 16 touchdowns, became the third Oregon player to earn conference freshman of the year honors, joining teammate and fellow running back LaMichael James (2009) and former UO defensive back Jairus Byrd (2006). Thomas ranks tenth nationally and second to James in the Pac-12 in all-purpose yards with an average of 159.0 per contest. Thomas shares the award with USC wide receiver Marqise Lee. The all-Pac-12 team features Thomas as the return specialist, along with James, JR DE Dion Jordan, SR LB Josh Kaddu and SR ROV Eddie Pleasant. The first-team accolades are firsts for all but James. On the second team, Oregon is represented by SR TE David Paulson, JR FS John Boyett and JR P Jackson Rice. Paulson was a first-team pick a year ago while Boyett was honorable mention. Four Ducks received honorable mention: SR RG Mark Asper, SO DT Taylor Hart, SR LB Dewitt Stuckey, SR DE Terrell Turner. Oregon’s five first-team selections were the third-most behind USC (7) and Stanford (6). Last year, the Ducks had a school-record seven players on the top squad.

BOWL BOUND
After picking up their sixth win of the season Oct. 22 at Colorado, the Ducks became bowl-eligible for a seventh straight year. Oregon is one of only ten programs nationally to play in a bowl game in at least 18 of the past 22 seasons.

BOWL VETS
With only 14 seniors on a roster currently made up of 111 players, it’s still somewhat surprising that only three Ducks are in line to make a fourth bowl appearance come Jan. 2 in Pasadena: RG Mark Asper, ROV Eddie Pleasant and LT Darrion Weems. Asper is the lone player slated to start in four straight bowls.

AVERAGE YARDS PER CARRY: A LOT
The Ducks still have one game remaining in their 2011 season, but after the first 13, they are averaging 6.53 yards per rushing attempt (589 att for 3,844 yds). That mark is currently the highest by a Pac-12 school in a single season in conference history. USC set the record in 2005 with an average of 6.43 (525 att for 3,380 yds).

ALL-AMERICA JAMES FINALIST FOR PAUL HORNUNG AWARD
JR RB LaMichael James is one of four finalists for the 2011 Paul Hornung Award, recognizing the most versatile player in major college football. The three other finalists are Joe Adams of Arkansas, Brandon Boykin of Georgia and Eric Page of Toledo. The nation’s leading rusher with an average of 146.9 yards per game, James ranks third in all-purpose yards at 182.9 yards per contest and ninth in scoring at 10.4 points per game. This season he took on the added role as the Ducks’ primary punt returner and ranks 20th nationally with an average of 11.25 yards per return and a touchdown. Despite missing two games due to injury, James leads the FBS with 13 runs of 30 yards or more and has two punt returns of 50-plus yards, which is tied for second-most nationally. James has equaled his career-high with 17 receptions this season, while setting a new personal standard for receiving yards with 210. With 249 all-purpose yards in the inaugural Pac-12 Championship game, he took home MVP honors and became the second player in school history to surpass 2,000 all-purpose yards (2,012) in a single season. James is the only player in UO history to score touchdowns rushing, receiving and returning in the same game, a feat he accomplished in this season’s home opener vs. Nevada. The 2010 Doak Walker Award winner and Heisman Trophy finalist, who was a unanimous All-America selection last season, has been named first-team All-America at the all-purpose position by the AFCA and first-team running back by the Walter Camp Football Foundation this season.

QUACK MAMBA
FR RB De'Anthony Thomas has 16 touchdowns through his first 13 games as a collegian, second only to LaMichael James (19 total TDs) for the team scoring lead. Nicknamed “Black Mamba” during his standout prep career at Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles, Thomas has already set new UO marks for touchdowns by a true freshman (Derek Loville had 10 - 7 rush, 3 rec - in 1986) and redshirt freshman (LaMichael James scored 14 rushing TDs in 2009), and is one away from LeGarrette Blount’s record for a first-year player of 17 scores. Thomas, averaging 7.5 points per game, currently ranks 58th nationally and first among freshmen (non-kickers) in scoring.

HE ... COULD ... GO ... ALL ... THE ... WAY
FR RB De'Anthony Thomas has two kickoff returns for touchdowns this season, ripping off a 96-yard score vs. then No. 18 USC on Nov. 19 and a 93-yarder vs. Washington State on Nov. 29. His 93-yard return was tied for the tenth-longest in UO history before the 96-yard effort - tied for seventh-longest - knocked it out of the top 10. He is tied for second in the FBS with five all-purpose plays of 60 yards or longer and ranks sixth in a single season at Oregon with 1,921 all-purpose yards.

RARE LOSS INDEED
Not only did the Nov. 19 loss vs. USC end Oregon’s 21-game home winning streak and 16-game Pac-12 winning streak, it marked the first time in Chip Kelly’s tenure as head coach that an opponent defeated the Ducks with only one week to prepare. Oregon’s previous five losses came in season openers at Boise State (‘09) and vs. LSU (‘11), postseason bowl games vs. Ohio State (‘09) and Auburn (‘10), and against a Stanford team coming off a bye week in ‘09.

BENNETT’S DEBUT A SUCCESS
FR QB Bryan Bennett made the first start of his career on Oct. 22 at Colorado, leading the Ducks to a 45-2 victory. Bennett passed for 153 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed six times for 69 yards before giving way to SO QB Dustin Haines in the fourth quarter. Over his past four appearances, Bennett has led Oregon to 14 scores on 19 drives (not counting taking a knee to end a half).

AMONG THE PAC-12 GREATS
With 4,923 career rushing yards, JR RB LaMichael James ranks third in Pac-12 history. He is first back in conference history with three seasons of 1,500 or more yards and just the second player to surpass the 4,000 mark as a junior, joining USC’s Charles White. White holds the Pac-12’s all-time rushing mark with 6,245 yards.

OREGON ROSE BOWL FUN FACTS
• In spite of its 1-4 record in the Rose Bowl, Oregon has produced four players of the game. The 1917 MVP was tackle and team captain John Beckett (14-0 win vs. Penn). The 1958 winner was quarterback Jack Crabtree (10-7 loss to Ohio State). The 1995 MVP was record-setting quarterback Danny O’Neil (38-20 loss to Penn State). The 2010 defensive player of the game was end Kenny Rowe (26-17 loss to Ohio State).

•Oregon and Penn State set 13 Rose Bowl records in the 1995 game (38-20 win by PSU), a number of which still stand today. Among those are individual records for passing yards (456), attempts (61), completions (41) and total offensive plays (74) all by Danny O’Neil, and team records for passing yards (456), attempts (61), completions (41) and total offensive plays (92) all by Oregon.

• That 1995 game was also the first time Oregon had ever played before a crowd of more than 100,000 (102,247).

• The 1917 Rose Bowl, in which Oregon defeated Penn 14-0, was played before a then-record crowd of 25,000. This year, Oregon fans alone purchased more than 31,000 tickets.

• Oregon’s first-ever Rose Bowl score (1917) came thanks to a 20-yard double-pass play earlier in its scoring drive against Penn (Shy Huntington to Hollis Huntington to Orville Monteith). It was a play that Oregon head coach Hugo Bezdek “borrowed” from the Quakers after Penn coach Bob Folwell invited Bezdek to one of his practices and taught him the play.

• Rose Bowl Hall of Famer Hollis Huntington is one of only a handful of players to have appeared in three Rose Bowls. However, his is the most unconventional. He was with the Ducks for the 1917 win against Penn, and then was the game’s MVP for Mare Island (USMC) in its 19-7 victory over Camp Lewis (Army). After World War I, Huntington returned to Oregon for the 1920 classic, where he rushed for 122 yards in the Ducks’ 7-6 loss to Harvard.

• Oregon kicker Skeet Manerud is believed to be the smallest player ever to have appeared in the Rose Bowl. The 128-pound “Web Foot” booted a 30-yard field goal in the Ducks’ 7-6 loss to Harvard in 1920. He also attempted a 25-yarder near the end of the game that missed by just a foot, according to reports of the game.

• Josh Wilcox is one of only 12 players with more than 100 yards receiving in the Rose Bowl. The tight end caught 11 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown in the 1995 game against Penn State. The 11 receptions is tied for third-most in Rose Bowl history.

• Two men with Oregon ties have both played and then later have been head coach in the Rose Bowl. Charles “Shy” Huntington was one of the stars in Oregon’s 14-0 win over Penn in 1917, and was the team’s head coach in the 1920 loss to Harvard, 7-6. John Robinson played on Oregon’s 1958 team and later was the head coach of four of USC’s Rose Bowl teams: 1977, 1979, 1980 and 1996.

• Shy Huntington set a Rose Bowl record with three interceptions against Penn in 1917, a mark which still stands today. Huntington had a fourth pick in the game nullified by penalty.

• One-time Oregon coach Hugo Bezdek is the only man to have brought three different teams to the Rose Bowl. He accomplished that in 1917 with Oregon, 1918 with Mare Island (USMC) and 1923 with Penn State.

• Oregon did not punt in its 1958 10-7 loss to Ohio State. That’s the only time in 97 Rose Bowls that a team did not punt.

• Including the 2012 game, half of Oregon’s Rose Bowl appearances will have come on Mondays. The Ducks won the Monday game of 1917 (14-0 vs. Penn) and lost the 1995 Monday game to Penn State (38-20). The 1920 game was on a Thursday, the 1958 game a Wednesday and the 2010 game a Friday.

• This year’s game will feature the third-highest scoring team in Rose Bowl history in Oregon (600 points to date) against the fourth-highest scoring team ever to visit Pasadena in Wisconsin (580 points). The two highest-scoring teams met in the 2006 Rose Bowl Game with Texas (652) beating USC (638) by a score of 41-38.

ONE FOR THE BOOKS
JR RB LaMichael James set Oregon single-game records for rushing and all-purpose yards in the Ducks’ 56-31 win at Arizona Sept. 24. His 288 yards on the ground eclipsed Onterrio Smith’s 285 at Washington State Oct. 27, 2001, and his 363 all-purpose yards broke Smith’s mark of 342 - also in the game vs. the Cougars. James’ rushing effort tied former Arizona RB Trung Canidate (288 vs. ASU in 1998) for 10th in conference history.

RECORD RUSHER
In less than three full seasons, JR RB LaMichael James has taken every major rushing record in school history and made it his own. His latest accomplishment might also be his most impressive as he became the first UO player to have three 1,000-yard seasons, when he eclipsed the mark at Washington on Nov. 5 in his seventh game of the season, tying his own record for fewest games to reach the mark. He also set a new Oregon record for fewest rushing attempts to gain 1,000 yards, needing only 122 carries. LeGarrette Blount held the previous mark at 137 in 2008.

RECORD RUN
JR RB LaMichael James ripped off the longest run in Autzen Stadium history and second-longest scamper in UO history with a 90-yard touchdown vs. Missouri State Sept. 17. It was the longest run by an Oregon player since Bob Smith went 92 yards for a score vs. Idaho in 1938. Jonathan Stewart held the previous stadium record with an 88-yarder vs. Fresno State in 2007. James also had a 50-yard touchdown run vs. the Bears, becoming the first UO player known to have two TDs of 50-plus in the same game.

RECORD RUN TIMES TWO
JR RB Kenjon Barner had the longest rush in a road game in school history when he ran for an 84-yard touchdown at Colorado on Oct. 22. Overall, Barner’s burst was the eighth-longest at UO. Jeremiah Johnson’s 83-yarder at Oregon State in 2008 was the previous record rush away from home.

200-YARD CLUB
Only ten Oregon backs have ever eclipsed 200 rushing yards in a single game, but JR RB LaMichael James has taken the accomplishment to an entirely new level by doing it seven times in his career, including four times this season - both UO records. James also became the first Pac-12 player with three straight 200-yard efforts since USC’s Marcus Allen in 1981, and the first FBS player since Tulane’s Matt Forte in 2007.

100-YARD GAMES
It took until the third game before the Ducks had a 100-yard rushing performance, but JR RB LaMichael James did that and then some when he ran for 204 yards vs. Missouri State on Sept. 17. James has added six more games of 100-plus yards since, giving him 25 in 36 career appearances to extend his own school record. JR RB Kenjon Barner has hit the mark four times, including a career-high 171 vs. Arizona State on Oct. 15.

NO DOUBTING THOMAS
With three touchdown passes vs. UCLA Dec. 2, JR QB Darron Thomas now has 63 for his career, breaking Danny O’Neil’s (1991-94) school record. The Houston native ranks seventh on UO’s career passing list with 5,642 yards and seventh in total offense with 6,360 yards.
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED
Already the school’s all-time rusher with 4,923 yards, JR RB LaMichael James added the Oregon record for touchdowns - both rushing and overall - after his two-TD effort at Arizona Sept. 24. James now has 52 TDs running the football and 57 overall, eclipsing Derek Loville’s (1986-89) former marks of 42 and 45, respectively. He sits tied for second place on the Pac-12 career list for rushing touchdowns.

BO KNOWS TOUCHDOWNS
SO LB Boseko Lokombo scored his third touchdown of the season and fourth of his career on Oct. 12 when he intercepted a pass from Stanford’s Andrew Luck and returned it 40 yards for the score. Two weeks earlier, he scooped up a blocked punt and ran 25 yards for a TD vs. Washington State, and against Arizona State on Oct. 15, he turned his first career interception into a 67-yard “pick six”. As a freshman in 2010, the Canadian recovered and returned a fumble for a 32-yard TD at Arizona State.

ALL-PURPOSE BACK
JR RB LaMichael James’ versatility has been on display through his first nine games of the season as he’s racked up yardage rushing (1,646), receiving (210), punt returning (135) and kick returning (21). James’ 2,012 all-purpose yards on the year are the second-most in a single season at UO and give him 5,706 for his career, breaking Derek Loville’s (1986-89) previous UO record of 5,223.

THOMAS TIES TOUCHDOWN MARK
JR QB Darron Thomas’ six touchdown passes vs. Nevada Sept. 10 matched the school record previously achieved by Joey Harrington (vs. Arizona State in both 2000 and ‘01) and Danny O’Neil (vs. Stanford in 1994). Thomas became the first Oregon player with five touchdowns in one half, connecting with five different receivers over the first two quarters.

RATING A RARITY
JR QB Darron Thomas had a passing efficiency rating of 303.05 against Nevada, completing 13 of 19 attempts for 295 yards and six scores. That rating was the fourth highest in college football since 2005 among QBs with at least 15 attempts against FBS competition and highest since Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen - also against Nevada - had a 303.66 in ‘09. No Pac-10/12 quarterback has had a more efficient day passing the ball in at least seven seasons.

ESPN COLLEGE GAMEDAY IN EUGENE
ESPN College GameDay produced its weekly college football preview show from the University of Oregon prior to the Ducks’ matchup with No. 18 Arizona State, marking the sixth appearance in Eugene by the immensely popular show which features Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Erin Andrews and David Pollack. For the first time, the production originated from campus, taking place on the memorial quad with the Lillis Business Complex as a backdrop. With the win vs. the Sun Devils, UO now owns a 5-1 record when hosting GameDay with the lone defeat coming vs. No. 6 Cal, 31-24, in 2007. Last season, the No. 4 Ducks beat No. 9 Stanford, 52-31. Other home wins in front of GameDay were a 47-20 Halloween upset of fourth-ranked USC in ‘09 (UO was No. 10), a 35-23 win vs. No. 6 Arizona State in ‘07 (UO was No. 4) and a 29-10 upset of No. 6 UCLA in 2000 (UO was unranked).

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
Since 2000, Oregon is 31-6 in regular season, out-of-conference contests, earning notable victories against the likes of Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Michigan (x2). During that stretch, the Ducks are 3-1 against the SEC, 5-2 vs. the Big Ten, 1-1 vs. the Big 12, 3-0 against the Mountain West, 12-2 vs. the WAC, 2-0 against Conference USA and 5-0 vs. FCS sides.

COACHING CONTINUITY
An often overlooked facet of Oregon’s success has been the continuity of its coaching staff. Third-year head coach Chip Kelly, now in his fifth season on staff, is a relative newcomer in Eugene compared to his core group of assistants, who have remained intact over the course of three different head coaches. Running backs coach Gary Campbell is in his 29th year on the Oregon staff, which equals the longest tenure of any Oregon assistant football coach in school history. In addition, offensive line coach and running game coordinator Steve Greatwood enters his 25th season at UO, linebackers coach Don Pellum is in his 22nd campaign, while defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti has spent 19 full seasons at Oregon over three separate stints. Of the dozen schools in the Pac-12, only Oregon and Washington saw no turnover on their respective staffs from 2010 to ‘11.

EXPLOSION PLAYS
After not recording a single play from scrimmage of 25 or more yards in the season opener vs. LSU, the Ducks have 63 since. Last season, the Ducks had 57 such plays in 13 games.